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Pistol or no pistol? Astros ponder Colt .45s jersey.

A while back, it came to light that Major League Baseball mandated that the Astros not include the pistol on the Colt .45s jerseys that the team will wear on April 10 and April 20 this season.

MLB later amended that mandate and told the Astros, who are celebrating 50 years of Major League Baseball in Houston this year, the decision will ultimately rest with the club.

The Astros have reached out to many fans on this issue in the past week. A final decision will be rendered on Friday. Here is the release, from the team:

The Houston Astros are celebrating the team’s 50th Anniversary in 2012 and one of the cornerstones of the campaign is the highly anticipated “Flashback Fridays” program. With some of the most recognizable and iconic uniforms in baseball history, the Astros will highlight a different uniform each month with the team wearing that jersey for each Friday night game. Part of the program includes the iconic Colt .45s jersey that the team will wear on Tuesday, April 10 vs. the Atlanta Braves (commemorating the first game in franchise history) and on Friday, April 20 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Over the past few months, the club has been in discussion with Major League Baseball (MLB) about whether to wear the authentic Colt .45s jersey. The original logo features the Colts name and a pistol. The alternative jersey would only have the Colts name on the front of the jersey. This week, MLB informed the Astros that the decision would be left to the ballclub. The Astros organization continues to value fan input, therefore the Astros have been reaching out to fans the past week to get their opinion on this issue.

Our fans have expressed overwhelming passion and support for the Astros and our rich 50-year tradition. We plan to announce our decision tomorrow, Friday, March 9th.

We already have too much political correctness. If it’s supposed to be a nostalgic look at the old uniforms, it should be the actual old uniform. If you’re not going to do that, then please skip the entire retro uniform thing.

Put the pistol on the jersey. THAT would be an authentic throwback. No one is going to go out and buy a gun (which is legal by the way for now) because of a jersey. The same nonsense happened with the Washington Bullets, now the ridiculously named Wizards.

The stylized “C” in Colt on the original uniform jersey is formed from the smoke being emitted from the barrel of the pistol. Without the pistol, the Colt .45’s jersey just looks STUPID!! If they’re paying tribute to the original team, they should wear the authentic jersey. If they are NOT going to wear the original uniform, WHAT’S THE POINT????? If they just can’t bring themselves to wear the authentic jersey, then why not just wear T-shirts with the words “Houston Major League Baseball Team, 1962-1964″ on them???

Finally Selig’s office feels some push-back from their contemptuous destruction of Houston baseball history. I think “political correctness” was used as an excuse for the Commissioner’s office to again demonstrate their dominance of the Astros franchise and to set the tone for the new ownership. I don’t know if this change is a result of fan push-back or if Crane has decided to display a spine, but it is most welcome.

Of course the historically accurate uniforms should be used. It never should have been in question.

Remember the Colt 45’s well. There wasn’t a problem back in the day with Colt 45 guns on their jerseys….but then again….the times have changed they are now the Astros and there are no guns….no reason to.
Keep Astros name….build a better, stronger team and that in it’s self will be more powerful than a Colt 45 gun on a Astros jersey.

That’s why I think this has got to be Crane. I don’t believe that Selig cares one wit about what Astros’ fans think. He’s never missed an opportunity to display his contempt for the city and the team so I doubt that he is throwing a bone to Houston fans. He may need Crane’s vote on some issue in the future.

I would definitely vote in favor of using the original Colt .45s Jersey. I understand that some groups might be opposed, but in this instance it is not as if the old jersey contains some antiquated and offensive term that has come to be viewed as insensitive. I can understand changing old uniforms and team names that are perceived as derogatory towards Native Americans or even the Tampa Smokers uniform change, but the presence of the original logo should not influence or offend anyone since it does not necessarily advocate any behavior that is harmful or reference any particular group of people. I hope the Astros maintain the authentic and original look for the duration of the throwback promotion.

Yes I say use the colt. 45 with the gun!!! This is part of the Astros history and I think we should honor it and the players that wore it back then…Afterall this might b the last year we r the Houston Astros :0) So I say let’s go out with a bang :0)))

Definitely leave the Pistols, firearms gave us our freedom and continue to keep our freedom, to ask us to remove them from our Colt .45s jersey was ridiculous and absurd to begin with. If we have to remove our pistols then the New York YANKEES must remove their team name from all apparel and usage, as it MAY be offensive to people from the north. :) How about THAT Bud?

Since the uniforms do not have pistols anymore, it shouldn’t be an issue and thats probably why MLB left the decision up to the Astros. The subject has probably already been decided but my opinion is that the uniforms should be presented as they were originally. To present them any other way would not be presented truthfully without the pistol. The younger generation wouldn’t remember but the Astros fortunately still have fans when they started in MLB.

They have to use the pistol. There is no good reason to not. It’s use will not offend anyone and it would particularly be odd for the Braves to have their traditional tomahawk in the same series where the pistol was omitted.

HERE IS IDEA..Lets replace the pistol with a spoon, maybe it will make me go out and eat more food. Or let replace the pistol with bull-dozer so I can dig and a hole and bury myself in a hole so I do not have to put up with all these politicly correct liberals! No matter the decision, it will offend someone. I say wear the pistol because is honoring the ones who wore the uniform in 1960.

Use the pistol…….i swear if the Astros cave on this im done with MLB……….I am sick and tired of all this political correctness. Enough is enough……….This America and by God we live in Texas! All the libs just need shut their pieholes up and move to Europe.

There’s only one question to ponder: “Do we do the right thing, listen to the fans and respect our history, or do we continue to allow MLB to trample all over our history while we bend over for them to earn their good favor?” If they decide not to have the pistol anyway, we’ll know where Crane’s loyalties truly lie.

Well.. If its not a pistol, then it’s a horse or a malt liquor… If it is indeed a throwback jersey, then the answer Is obvious… If it’s a “let’s rewrite history to be make sure that our old jersey couldn’t possibly offend someone who has been effected by violence” then I guess you go with the horse or the liquor.

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